UCLA Stuns Virginia Tech With Ninth-Inning Rally

LOS ANGELES — Facing elimination Saturday afternoon, UCLA found itself one loss away from seeing a historic season come to an end.

Instead, the Bruins delivered one of their most memorable wins of the season, rallying for a dramatic 6-5 walk-off victory over Virginia Tech to remain alive in the Los Angeles Regional.

Head coach John Savage credited both teams after the emotional victory.

“It was just a credit to Virginia Tech,” Savage said. “I thought Virginia Tech really handled themselves professionally over the last two days. It was a very, very competitive game today. Just a credit to our guys for being resilient, staying with one another.”

Savage acknowledged that UCLA has become accustomed to close postseason battles.

“We really don’t want to play games like that at this time of year,” Savage said. “You’re flirting with fire, and you’re walking a tight rope a lot of times. But it is playoff baseball. We are used to that.”

Barnett Answers the Call

With UCLA’s season on the line, Michael Barnett delivered one of his strongest performances of the year.

The senior right-hander worked six innings, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out five and walking one. He threw 86 pitches and kept the Bruins within striking distance throughout the afternoon.

Savage called it Barnett’s best outing of the season.

“Barnett was excellent. I thought it was the best game he’s pitched all season,” Savage said. “He’s a captain. He’s a senior. He told me he wanted that inning, and I believe in my players.”

After Cashel Dugger tied the game with a solo homer in the fourth, Phoenix Call doubled and later scored on Jarrod Hocking’s RBI double to give UCLA a 2-1 lead. Will Gasparino added a solo shot in the fifth as the Bruins moved ahead 3-2.

Ninth-Inning Heroics

Virginia Tech responded with solo home runs in the seventh and eighth innings before adding another run in the ninth, taking a 5-3 lead into UCLA’s final at-bat.

The Bruins never panicked.

Roman Martin followed Mulivai Levu’s leadoff homer in the ninth with a game-tying blast of his own. Martin said a brief conversation before the at-bat helped him settle down.

“I was a little sped up,” Martin said. “I really just used that timeout to catch my breath and get back to my two-strike approach and really just try to see the ball.”

The comeback reflected a mentality UCLA has built over several seasons.

“We’ve kind of developed an identity,” Phoenix Call said. “We call it the 7-8-9. When the seventh inning comes around, we treat it as a new game. It’s a brand-new opportunity.”

Moments later, Call delivered the game-winning RBI single.

The versatile UCLA standout, who has played multiple positions throughout the season, said his focus remains on helping the team however he can.

“I try to see that as just my identity on the team,” Call said. “I like to do whatever can help the team win. As long as I know the team wins, then I’m happy.”

Call added that his approach never changed despite the pressure of the moment.

“I was kind of just trying to keep it as simple as possible,” Call said. “I didn’t really change at all. Same approach, just try to help someone.”

With the victory, UCLA advanced to Sunday’s elimination game and, as Savage put it, will “live another day” with its College World Series dreams still intact.